


i'm (love)sick

by efaeria



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Roommates/Housemates, Fluff, Light Angst, M/M, Misunderstandings, Mutual Pining
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-31
Updated: 2020-07-31
Packaged: 2021-03-05 20:27:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,688
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25631296
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/efaeria/pseuds/efaeria
Summary: Lovesickness n.or better known as the “love allergy” is a condition wherein a person’s body has an extreme reaction when experiencing love. The “love allergy” gained its name from the instance where a person’s strongest feelings of love manifests itself through its infamous heart-shaped rashes. To cure one’s love allergies, one must be diligent in taking the prescribed medication.The effect of the medication slowly wears down the intensity of love the person experiences, until they can no longer experience the symptoms nor experience falling in love.Loosely based on Suehiro Machi's mangaDear Signal!Day 2 Prompt - Mutual pining/Obliviousness | Roommates/Moving in | College AU for BokuAka Week 2020
Relationships: Akaashi Keiji/Bokuto Koutarou
Comments: 3
Kudos: 57
Collections: Bokuaka Week 2020





	i'm (love)sick

**Author's Note:**

> hello! this is the only fic i managed to do for bokuaka week ;; please have mercy aha
> 
> also, huge thanks to my babie vityasgirl for always being there to beta for me ily
> 
> enjoy!!

**Lovesickness n.** or better known as the “love allergy” is a condition wherein a person’s body has an extreme reaction when experiencing love. The “love allergy” gained its name from the instance where a person’s strongest feelings of love manifests itself through its infamous heart-shaped rashes. To cure one’s love allergies, one must be diligent in taking the prescribed medication.

The effect of the medication slowly wears down the intensity of love the person experiences, until they can no longer experience the symptoms nor experience falling in love.

* * *

**2011.**

“Hey, hey, hey!” Bokuto cheered, pumping his fists up in the air, “Did you see that, huh? Did ya?”

He glanced back to see Konoha and Komi talking in hushed whispers, staring at the gym door that was left ajar. Bokuto blinked in confusion and approached the two, “Eh? What’s wrong?”

Konoha shrugged, “I don’t really know, but one of the first-years just ran out.”

“Maybe it was an emergency?” Komi suggested. Then, an arm came slinging onto Bokuto’s shoulders. “Or maybe he just didn’t like how intimidating Bokuto was,” Washio added.

“Eh? Am I that scary?”

“That was Akaashi, too… Wow, you scared off one of your potential setters,” Sarukui sighed, “That sucks, dude.”

“I did not!” Bokuto whined, “I’m sure he’s just going to take a bathroom break!”

“Without permission from the coach?” Komi fixed him with a pitiful look, “I don’t think so. Maybe he just doesn’t like you.”

“Why are you guys doing this to me?”

* * *

**2014.**

Moving into a dorm was hard. Not only did it cost you money, but it also dealt you with a lot of stress.

Akaashi knew it was going to take a lot of adjusting on his part, but he thought it was a good idea to start being independent. What better time to start than during university? He was just thankful that his parents shared the same sentiments. 

Well, they practically threw him out. 

_“You can handle yourself better than your sister, Keiji! I’m sure you can do it!”_

_“Think of it as a… dry-run for the rest of your life!”_

He wasn’t really complaining, but they could have acted a little subtler about it, but he shrugged it off. His parents did often tell him he was independent for a boy his age. It wasn’t anything new. Everyone had expectations for him, one way or another. 

He would just have to deal with that fact.

He looked around the halls for his room number, occasionally looking down at the piece of paper in his hand to make sure he was looking for the right door. _401\. 402. 403. 404…_

He sighed in relief as he stepped in front of his room. _405\. Finally._

He knocked thrice and called out, “Hello? I’m your roommate, Akaashi Keiji!” Nobody came to the door. Did that mean they weren’t here yet? Akaashi fumbled with the envelope he brought with him and took out the dorm key. He slipped it in the key hole and turned, the door knob jingling. It clicked open and he pushed.

He looked around. Apparently his roommate was just out. The left side of the room was already made up, looking relatively lived in, so his roommate must have been here for days already.

Maybe he wasn’t even a freshman like him. He just hoped they could at least get along.

Akaashi dragged his luggage in through the doorway, grunting with effort and placed his bags at the foot of his study desk, sighing heavily. He was tired from the trip and it was a quarter until lunch time. _I should probably get something to eat now,_ he mused. 

He stared at his empty side of the room and shrugged, “I can take my lunch now and then settle in after.”

That’s how Akaashi found himself walking around campus in search of the cafeteria. He passed by multitudes of booths and colorful sign-up boards and tried his best to avoid eye contact with anyone. He might get roped into joining... University students loitered around him, chattering away and taking pictures as he kept his hands buried inside his jacket’s pockets, silently looking around.

“Hello, would you like to join our club?” A bunch of girls tried inviting him to their booth, holding up flyers but he refused as respectfully as he could. She still gave him the flyer, though. He looked down at it and sighed. After high school, he didn’t want to commit himself to another thing.

If he wanted to do well in university, he needed all the time he could get after all. (How could it ever get any better than his high school experience anyway?)

Well, joining a literature circle couldn’t hurt, though. Maybe this university had one?

As he indulged in his thoughts, Akaashi found himself staring up at a bulletin board with a poster. He stopped in place and realized, _it’s the university volleyball team._

He eyed it for a few minutes before approaching it. Someone familiar was on the poster- front and center, Bokuto Koutarou was poised in mid-air, ready to spike with an intense look in his eye. His lips were shaped in a way that signalling impending victory.

Just like all those years ago, Akaashi felt the rush taking over his body. His heart was racing and his head was spinning. He spied something beginning to form on his arm and his eyes widened in panic. Akaashi tugged on the sleeve of his jacket and he immediately turned away from the bulletin board, taking off for the cafeteria.

He needed a glass of water, and fast. But, he had to be extremely cautious.

If Bokuto was going to be here, Akaashi would rather delay his chances of seeing him… otherwise, he’s just going to hope for something more from fate.

That afternoon, he came back to the dorm satisfied. The food in the cafeteria was good and fairly affordable, so that was one worry out of his system. His mother would be happy to hear it.

He opened the door with a sigh and was greeted with a familiar voice, “Hello! I’m your new roommate- _Wha- Akaashi?!_ ”

“ _Bokuto-san?!_ ” Akaashi stared at the spiky-haired former captain in shock. Sure, he knew Bokuto was going to the same university as him (how could he not when the spiker made it nearly impossible to forget? If he hadn’t known then, the posters all over the campus were something...), but he did not think this could happen to him!

Not in a million years even! _What kind of movie is this?_ He screamed internally. The person he was trying so hard to avoid… ended up being his roommate. _How unlucky can you get?!_

“It is you!” The next thing he knew was the spiker came up to him with wide arms and embraced him tight, lifting him from the ground, “It’s been so long, Akaashi!”

“Bokuto-san! Please put me down! We could get hurt!” He fought off the urge to push him away. His face was too close. Akaashi struggled to keep his heart from racing and pulled on the sleeve of his jacket. _The rash..._ Bokuto only laughed and gently set him down back on the ground, “I wanted to see you so bad! What about you, Akaashi?”

“I…” He already felt flushed. Akaashi cleared his throat and averted his eyes, busying himself by entering the room and taking off his jacket. “I missed you too, Bokuto-san…”

“You’re joining the volleyball team, right Akaashi?” Bokuto was so excited to have him back on a team with him that Akaashi felt extremely bad for turning him down. “We’re going to be such a good team, just like the old days! They won’t know what hit ‘em!”

“I’m sure you have good setters with you now, Bokuto-san,” Akaashi reasoned, “After all, this is a big university.” He didn’t know what he’d do if the team’s going to lose again with him handling the helm. Nationals was enough. _You don’t need me anymore._

His tone didn’t go unnoticed to the spiker. Bokuto frowned.

“We do have a lot of cool setters…” Bokuto trailed off. Even though he knew it was coming, Akaashi’s heart fell. The spiker hummed under his breath before exclaiming, “But… I still think Akaashi’s tosses are the best after all!”

 _Your tosses are the best!_ Bokuto’s words kept ringing in his ear, and Akaashi’s eyes softened and he shook his head. Bokuto Koutarou was still the same: eager and cheerful. Almost like a puppy, wagging its tail for its master.

“I’m afraid I can’t commit to something right now, Bokuto-san…” Bokuto’s smile slowly fell and Akaashi immediately felt the pang of guilt in his chest and unintentionally rushed to appease him, “But we can still play during our free time..?”

Bokuto beamed, “Yes! Definitely! You promised, okay?”

He stifled a laugh, “Yes, Bokuto-san.”

 _Great, now you have to spend your free time with him,_ Akaashi thought wryly. It wasn’t like there was a way he could refuse without seeming rude. 

He approached his bed and straightened up his sheets, “By the way, how come I’m rooming with you? Shouldn’t I be with a freshman like me?” Bokuto shrugged, “Takeo-san graduated this spring, so you’re my new roommate now, Akaashi!”

Bokuto jumped onto his bed and wriggled around in his sheets, beaming, “We’re going to have so much fun!”

Akaashi smiled and averted his eyes as fast as he could. Any more of that smile and he was going to melt.

Guess he should be careful not to forget his daily dosage… Akaashi sighed to himself. Really. Just his luck. How the hell will he survive college like this? The only person capable of bringing him to his knees and unveiling truths of himself that even _he_ wasn’t aware of was sharing the same room with him.

A tiny room. Just them two. Day and night.

He barely survived high school with him! Bokuto was… he was a very touchy-feely person and Akaashi just knew it would spell trouble for him and their friendship in general if he just left the problem alone. He needed to put his guard up.

So, at that moment, staring down at his ruffled bed sheets, he decided to avoid him like the plague. If you can’t help it, ignore it.

Everyday, Akaashi woke up before the sun was even up and came home after the library closed down for the night. He kept himself busy with papers and books, not even giving himself time to think about things. It was hitting the books day and night.

He had to keep swimming against the current of thoughts already occupying his worry-addled brain, otherwise he’d start to think of something unnecessary. He was in the library so much that he had ended up befriending the librarian, and by this point in time, some students actually see him as one of the library’s fixtures.

Bokuto, on the other hand, was confused. It’s been weeks since he talked with Akaashi. The literature major was always either asleep or nowhere to be found. He did see him sometimes around campus, but he looked too busy to bother.

He just wished he was taking good care of himself. He always looked so worked to the bone… He tried texting him, but Bokuto was too scared to bother him.

Then, a different thought embedded itself in the spiker’s head. Wasn’t Akaashi happy they’re together again? He stared at his empty bed across his and sighed. Maybe it was him? Was it all just him again?

Maybe it was. 

Maybe he was feeling excited all by himself and he didn’t even notice how uncomfortable the other party was. He deluded himself into thinking Akaashi was as happy as he was to finally be together again.

 _Same old Bokuto,_ he thought to himself self-deprecatingly.

This wasn’t how he wanted things to go between them. He wanted to do so many things with Akaashi! He wanted to play volleyball with him again, hang out in the cinema or stay up in their dorm, watching movies...

Finally, after a year, they were together again! Wasn’t it a good thing?

Or maybe… Akaashi didn’t want to do those things with him.

 _Maybe Akaashi didn’t even want to be my roommate._ He didn’t want to think like this. He felt like he never changed from high school, and that was the one thing Bokuto hated feeling.

Somehow, he just wanted things to be normal, at least. If Akaashi was burdened by him… he had to let him know that he didn’t mind getting ignored. He would be the perfect roommate and not bother him. 

He wanted to apologize.

So, despite the sky getting darker and the time slowly ticking by, Bokuto sat on his bed, diligently waiting for Akaashi’s return. He glanced at his bedside clock. 11:23 PM. Akaashi should be back any time now.

Akaashi groaned and rolled his shoulders, checking the time on his phone. He spent four hours on a paper that wasn’t even halfway done. _Four more pages to go._

Seeing it was a few minutes before closing time, he gathered his stuff, bid the librarian goodbye and headed out of the library. He walked in tired silence back to the dorms and opened the door with a sigh.

“Oh, you’re back.”

Akaashi was surprised to see him up. Bokuto never stayed up too late. He was always asleep by 10PM because he had early morning training everyday.

“Bokuto-san… you’re awake?” He carefully set his things on his desk and turned back to the spiker, “It’s already 11 PM. Why aren’t you asleep yet?”

Bokuto tucked his knees under his chin and whispered, “Akaashi, did I do something wrong?”

Blinking, Akaashi removed his jacket and hung it to his desk chair, “No? Why, what’s wrong?”

“Because Akaashi’s been ignoring me for weeks now…” he bit his lip and averted his golden eyes, “I just wondered if it was my fault. Did I do something? Whatever it is, I’m sorry!”

So, Bokuto decided to confront him. He noticed it after all.

 _Of course he would, you idiot,_ he thought wryly, _you haven’t been subtle about it at all!_

He took a pillow, sat next to Bokuto on his bed and shook his head, “No. I’m sorry. I should have told you how demanding my school stuff is going to be.”

“Eh?” Bokuto blinked, “What do you mean?”

“I was just…” Akaashi minutely swallowed the lump in his throat and lied, “Stressed about my workload these days, Bokuto-san. I’ve been too busy trying to adjust to the new lifestyle that I couldn’t do anything but study.”

“So… Akaashi isn’t mad at me, or anything like that?” Akaashi shook his head at that. At least he knew deep down that wasn’t a lie.

Bokuto looked happy to hear it and nodded, “Okay then! But you shouldn’t work so hard, or you’ll end up collapsing! Have you been eating properly?”

“Yes, of course, Bokuto-san.”

“Have you been drinking lots of water?”

“Yes.”

“You better be drinking less coffee and more water,” Bokuto added, “Don’t try and lie. I see you bringing in steaming to-go cups to your classes.”

Akaashi rolled his eyes, “I need coffee to function in the mornings, Bokuto-san.”

“But too much is bad for you, and I see you all around campus always holding a cup!”

Akaashi sighed, “I need to drink it, or else I fall asleep in the middle of class.”

“Then, sleep early!”

“I’m a night owl, Bokuto-san. Besides, I often study and read at night.”

“You’ll ruin your eyes like that,” Bokuto clicked his tongue and wriggled his finger at him, “Tsk, tsk! You should at least have a good seven hours of sleep! That’s important! Take care of yourself better, Akaashi!”

Easier said than done… Akaashi could barely catch up to everything in his classes. Everything was just a blur by this point.

“You’re free during weekends, right?” Akaashi nodded, already feeling skeptical, “I only have one class on Saturdays and it’s in the afternoon.”

“I don’t have morning training on Saturday mornings too!” Bokuto clapped his hands and grinned, “It’s decided! Friday nights are our roommate bonding time! It’s a time for Akaashi to unwind and rest and for me to just spend time with you!”

Akaashi’s heart started beating rapidly. Was he being serious?

“Are… are you sure you want to do this, Bokuto-san?” Bokuto raised a brow at him, “Why not?”

“I mean, you must have other friends besides me…” Akaashi got up from Bokuto’s bed and moved to his dresser, rummaging around for a shirt and some shorts to change into, “Don’t you want to hang out with them instead?”

Bokuto hummed, “I don’t know… it’s not as fun with them!”

“Being with Akaashi is still the best, y’know?” He grinned.

Akaashi fixed him with a small smile, “Hm. Okay.”

“What? That’s it?” Bokuto pouted, huffing.

“Do you expect me to say something more?”

“I just… expected Akaashi to be slightly touched.” 

Akaashi’s smile widened teasingly. “Wow, so you just wanted validation?”

“Hehe.”

So for the next few months, they spent their Friday nights together. It didn’t matter where they were - they just had to be together.

One time, Akaashi forgot a paper he needed to get done for class the next day and had to cancel on Bokuto at the last minute. The spiker only asked where he was. He told him he was in the library, confused.

After fifteen minutes, someone was pulling on the chair beside him. Bokuto met his eyes with a grin and raised the hand holding onto a to-go cup of coffee, “Hey, hey, hey! Need company, Akaashi? I brought you coffee!”

He took a sip and winced, “What is this?”

“It’s decaf! Too much caffeine is bad, Akaashi!”

"I can't possibly stay awake with this..."

"You'll manage!"

Akaashi fell even deeper in love, as if his feelings for his roommate weren't enough in the first place.

They had movie nights (with Bokuto more often than not suggesting musical movies - _Frozen_ being one of his favorites) and game nights (games courtesy of Kozume Kenma, of course) on their Fridays. They also made it a point to watch Kodzuken’s latest uploads together (Kuroo badgered them into watching it, much to Kenma’s embarrassment). It was fun and comfortable.

Their close proximity was starting to feel natural. It just felt like home.

Everyday, their proximity was shrinking, and everyday, his dosage got higher. Akaashi couldn’t help but drink more of his medicine throughout the day. Even the mere thought of the spiker made his heart race and his rashes to appear.

Akaashi started to notice the little things about his roommate that he didn’t use to know. How Bokuto liked to nibble on the end of his pen when he tried to concentrate on his schoolwork, how he gets anxious and bites on his lip during an intense horror game playthrough video (a huge contrast to Kodzuken’s level-headed commentary), the way he unconsciously sought warmth by snuggling closer in the middle of a movie and how the spiker would spend at least an hour in the bathroom every morning before going to class and every night before going to bed. 

About the latter, Akaashi wondered _why_ , of course, so naturally, he asked. Bokuto waved it off and said, “It takes time to make this hair look good, you know!”

Akaashi was confused. Someone who wore their hair like that everyday must have already gotten used to doing it. He should have been doing it faster, shouldn’t he? But what did it matter to him? He decided to just shrug it off.

One day, he awoke to a frantic Bokuto. He was storming around his side of the room in his disheveled practice gear, biting his lip, “I’m so sorry! Did I wake you, Akaashi?” His eyes looked around the room rapidly. He got down on his hands and knees and hurriedly peered under his bed.

Akaashi raised a brow at his strange behavior and only shrugged, rubbing the crust out of the corner of his eyes, “It’s okay, Bokuto-san… I have a class in two hours anyway.”

“Ah!” Bokuto looked relieved, but his mind seemed like it was elsewhere. He stood up, dusted off the dust in his jeans and bolted out of the room, calling out, “Well, I’m off now! Have a great day!”

Akaashi would be alarmed, but he knew Bokuto would tell him if it was something bad. He waved at him from where he laid buried in his blankets on his bed, “Byeeee.”

The door to their room closed and Akaashi glanced out the window. Students were already milling around outside. He should probably get up and take a bath now. The earlier he got to the lecture hall, the better seat he’ll have.

Akaashi went through his usual daily routine and noticed something glinting under the sink. He got down on his knees and reached for it. He made a noise of triumph as he felt the item in his palm. He pulled his hand back and stared down at the heart-shaped pill in shock. What was a pill doing here? 

Was it his..? Akaashi shook his head. “No… I never took my medicine here.”

He never took his medicine out of the room. Not even to their shared bathroom. There was no way this was his. Which only meant one thing… It had to be Bokuto’s.

He placed the little heart-shaped pill in his jacket's pocket and got ready for class. He had another hour to spare so he took his time.

And as the hot water poured over his body, he absentmindedly stared at the tiled white wall. 

_Being with Akaashi is still the best, y’know?_

Akaashi felt a smile slip onto his lips and he threw his head back, letting the warm water pour onto his face, his thoughts racing.

For some reason, a single memory kept popping into his mind. Akaashi closed his eyes and saw a second-year Bokuto in mid-air, wearing his _Fukurodani_ jersey, poised to strike the ball coming at him. Akaashi remembered his head spinning, the rapid beating of his heart, his huffs of breath and the beginnings of a rash on his arms.

He remembered how the realization dawned on him and the initial panic he felt. He had never ran that hard in his life. He could vividly hear the distant shouts coming from behind him. He remembered the thoughts of shame - _he just left like that, after all_ \- and the worried look on his mother’s face as he came into their home in his condition and her frantic call to the ambulance.

He remembered the sting of pain on his back and his fading vision after he finally passed out.

When he came to the next day, sixteen year old Akaashi Keiji was lying in a hospital bed. He woke up to his mother talking to the doctor. She noticed him conscious and smiled, “You must be feeling fatigued still. You should stay lying down.”

His mom was immediately by his side. She took his hand, rubbed a thumb over the back of his palm and addressed the doctor, “What do we do about this, doctor?”

She smiled at his mother and picked up her clipboard, “Well, he could always try getting rid of it.”

“Getting rid of it?” Akaashi croaked out. His mother immediately handed him a glass of water. He downed it as he listened to his doctor. “Yes. You can drink this,” she handed a small heart-shaped pill to his mother, “This medicine can prevent you from breaking into rashes, and if taken diligently, it can make it go away permanently.”

“You mean, I can stop having the rashes?” Akaashi looked down at the tablet. Was it really possible?

“Yes, but,” she looked into his eyes, serious, “It can also make you lose sense of love altogether.”

She fixed him with a sad smile, “You can never fall in love ever again.”

Akaashi once thought it was a curse. That very moment in time, he felt frustrated. How was it fair for someone to be told something like this? He just got into high school! He was literally in the peak of his life! Sure, he wasn't one to fall in love at any rate, but _still_!

But gradually, as he spent day after day playing volleyball and hanging out with the team… With _Bokuto_...

He came to accept some things.

There was something bittersweet in knowing that you could never get to fall in love again. To some, it may have felt like a bad thing; falling in love was something that came natural to human beings. It was a part of life.

But was it so wrong for Akaashi to eventually feel okay with it? He realized it, after all.

That falling in love just wasn’t worth it; not when the person isn’t Bokuto Koutarou.

Well, he could always brag about it: _the only one to make me feel this way was him, Bokuto Koutarou!_ But was it something to even brag about? _At least it was romantic._ Akaashi chuckled to himself and reached for the shampoo.

It was a risk Akaashi was willing to make. If it made his life better, if it made Bokuto unburdened by his feelings… it was better.

It was better that he didn’t know. Repeat until it becomes reality.

_It was better that he didn’t know._

That was what he said. But, he couldn’t help it. There were some things that he just _wanted_ and _had_ to know.

Akaashi absentmindedly stared down at the blank lines in his notebook. Why was Bokuto drinking the same medicine as him? Did he… like someone after all? Akaashi knew only someone who had _Lovesickness_ would drink that.

Then, Bokuto _did_ like someone. He took hold of his pen the first time that day and started scribbling random circles on the paper in frustration.

 _Of course he’d like someone! He’s a person like you_ , he thought as-a-matter-of-factly. Then, who was it? When did he meet this person? Did they know? Did Bokuto confess? Were they still seeing each other?

Did he love this person even more than Akaashi loved him?

His scribbling hand slowed as a twinge of pain made itself more apparent in his chest, and Akaashi smiled sadly. _Come on, Keiji. You knew this was going to happen. You can’t act all heartbroken now._

But he couldn’t deny it. 

Nothing hurt him more knowing that it couldn’t be him.

It was a Friday so they had a scheduled roommate bonding night today. Akaashi had to mentally prepare himself and chided himself internally, _stop thinking about it._

_Stop being such a downer. You’re just going to worry Bokuto-san. Don’t be such a burden._

When he got back to their room, Bokuto was already there. He was already setting up his laptop and Akaashi’s mini-projector. They were going to watch Kodzuken’s latest video. They always did. _It’s just like usual_ , he thought, _so just… don’t think._

Akaashi looked so off that Bokuto was starting to worry. It was like he was anywhere but there. Bokuto knew there was something wrong and normally he wouldn’t pry, but Akaashi really didn’t look well at all. He looked so pale.

“You okay?” He touched Akaashi’s forehead with the back of his hand and leaned in close, “Do you have a fever?”

Akaashi was too out of it to notice the close proximity before it happened and stiffened, his face slowly gaining color and the apples of his cheeks reddening.

Bokuto was worried when Akaashi didn’t answer him immediately. He was looking feverish now. “Akaashi?” Bokuto noticed that his cheeks weren’t just turning red and his eyes widened in realization, “Your cheek.”

Akaashi snapped out of his thoughts and pushed him away, stricken with panic. He covered his face, grabbed his bag and ran for the bathroom, shutting the door with a resounding slam.

Bokuto sat on the bed, confused. _Was that..?_ Breathless, he knocked on the bathroom door, calling out for him, “Akaashi? Akaashi, are you okay?”

_I ruined it. I ruined everything..._

Akaashi leaned against the door and slid down to his knees, sobbing. Bokuto was alarmed. He knocked harder, “Akaashi, please! I need to know if you’re okay!”

“I’m fine!” He sobbed out, “Please, just leave me alone, Bokuto-san!”

 _How could I forget to take my medicine!_ Akaashi thought miserably, _it just had to happen today, of all days..._

“You don’t sound fine at all.” Bokuto’s knocking faltered and he set a palm on the door, resting his forehead on it, sighing, “Please open the door?” He felt his breath shortening.

“I’m fine…” he said in a tiny voice. Bokuto was adamant. “I need to see you to know.”

“You can’t. Not right now.” Akaashi frantically tried to muffle his sniffling.

Bokuto closed his eyes, his own head spinning and leaned against the door, “Why not?”

“Because Bokuto-san would hate me.”

“I could never hate you, Akaashi.”

“You’re only saying that.”

“I’m not,” Bokuto reassured him, “So, please… open the door.”

Akaashi stood up and looked at himself in the mirror. There were tear tracks on his face, his eyes were swollen red from all the crying and his lips red and bitten. His left cheek had the angriest heart-shaped rash.

It’s been so long since he’s had an allergic reaction this bad. _At least I didn’t faint this time,_ he thought, relieved.

He took a deep breath and opened the door hesitatingly. He averted his eyes from his roommate’s own golden orbs and looked down at his feet.

“Akaashi, your cheek…” He felt a hand brush up on his cheek almost reverently and he flinched a little at the coldness of his touch.

Akaashi whispered, “I’m so sorry.”

Bokuto’s brows furrowed, “Why are you apologizing?”

“I ruined everything.”

“Can you look at me?” He sighed and cupped Akaashi’s cheeks before pouting, “You didn’t ruin anything.”

He shook his head profusely, “I did. I ruined everything! Our friendship, our peaceful college life, co-existing in this tiny dorm room-”

“Akaashi, I like you.” 

Akaashi’s heart skipped a beat at that and he slowly looked up, opening his eyes wide in surprise. Bokuto’s face had small heart-shaped rashes all over.

“I always have. Since high school.”

“What?”

“I like you.”

Akaashi reached a hand out to touch his cheek, barely grazing his skin, “Are you... serious?”

Bokuto pouted and took hold of his hand, “Why would I joke about this? Akaashi, I am being super serious right now! Look at my face!” He pushed Akaashi’s hand to his cheek and whined, “Look at how many rashes there are all over my _face_!”

“You’re not exactly the best at being serious…”

“Wow, I just poured out my feelings to you and this is what I get for it?”

Akaashi couldn’t take it anymore. He laughed, feeling absolutely ridiculous.

Bokuto smiled down at him tenderly, pinching his cheek, “I don’t even care if you’re laughing at me. I’m just happy to see you not crying, Akaashi.”

“I was not crying.”

Bokuto laughed. “Okay.”

The situation calmed down and everything went relatively back to normal. Akaashi changed out of his uniform and came out of his shower and sat beside Bokuto on his bed. He saw the rash on his face and remembered the pill he picked up earlier in the morning. He rummaged in his jacket’s pocket, handing it back to Bokuto.

Bokuto blinked, “What? Where’d you find this?”

“I saw it under the sink this morning,” Akaashi frowned, “You really should be careful with this.”

He tilted his head and accepted the pill, “So that’s where it was!”

Bokuto got up from the bed and opened his drawer, storing it in there and Akaashi looked at him confused, “Aren’t you going to drink it?”

Bokuto walked back to him and snuggled into his side, “Eh. I don’t need to hide it anymore. like you, Akaashi.”

Akaashi smiled, “Hm. Okay.”

“What about Akaashi?”

He rolled his eyes in reply, “Can’t you already tell by my face?”

“But I want to hear it from you!” Bokuto whined, rubbing his cheek against his shoulder. The heart-rash didn’t look like it was going away soon. Akaashi loved it. He loved _him._

“I see. Okay. Bokuto-san, I like you too.”

Bokuto snuggled in closer, his cheek resting on his chest, “Hehe. I like you.”

“I like you too, Bokuto-san.”

“I like you more,” Akaashi’s smile widened.

“I like you to the moon and back.”

“I like you even more than Naruto likes his ramen!” He laughed and fondly shook his head at him, “Bokuto-san, please tell me we’re not going to do this all night.”

“It’s fun, though!”

They both fell silent, opting to watch the film playing absentmindedly until Bokuto decided to break the silence. “You know, Akaashi?”

“Hm?”

“I thought you hated me at first.”

Akaashi raised a brow. Where did this come from? “Hate you? Why?”

He scratched his cheek sheepishly, “Well, the first time we technically met you ran off, remember? We didn’t even get to talk then. Konoha and the others were teasing me for being too intimidating…”

Akaashi’s eyes widened, then he started laughing uncontrollably. Bokuto stared at his boyfriend in surprise. This was… it was the first time he’s seen him laugh like this. The crinkle in the corner of his eyes, the wide beam on his lips and the twinkle in his eyes… It was beautiful.

Akaashi Keiji was beautiful, and he didn’t know how he got so lucky.

He wiped a stray tear from his eyes and huffed a breath, “Bokuto-san, that was… I’m sorry.”

“Eh?” Bokuto pouted, “What’s with that? I was really worried you know!”

“No, it’s just…” Akaashi smiled, lying his head against Bokuto’s arm, “That was the day I fell in love with you.”

“What?” Bokuto shot up from where he lied and Akaashi’s head fell back against the pillow, “Are you for real?”

“Yes,” Akaashi sighed, his cheeks red, “I ran home so fast… My mother was scared to death when I fainted soon after getting home. She called the ambulance, and the next thing I knew, I was in the hospital, getting prescribed.”

“Oh no…” Bokuto frowned, “I’m sorry.”

“What are you sorry for?” Akaashi laughed, then teasingly added, “That you made me fall in love with you? Don’t you have a big ego?”

Bokuto tackled him to the bed and groaned, “No! Akaashi, don’t put words in my mouth!”

Akaashi only laughed in reply and wrapped his arms around his waist, sighing contentedly.

Shortly after, they fell asleep like that, with the film still playing in the background and Akaashi was the first one to stir awake. The time on his clock read 7 AM. 

It was a Saturday, which meant that Bokuto didn’t have morning training, so Akaashi let him sleep in. He instinctively reached for his bag, trying to get his dosage for the day, until he thought of it.

_“Aren’t you going to drink it?”_

_“Eh. I don’t need to hide it anymore. I like you, Akaashi.”_

He stared down at the sleeping Bokuto on his bed, his mouth wide open and a little bit of drool coming down the side of his lip. He leaned down a little, just enough for his eyelashes to tickle his boyfriend’s skin, a tender look on his face, “I don’t need to hide it anymore either, Bokuto-san,” Akaashi whispered, “It’s always been you. Only you.” He smiled and softly placed a kiss on his forehead where a small fading heart-rash rested before going back to bed.

And someday, he would tell him face-to face. He just hoped it would be soon.

* * *

**Extra.**

The day Bokuto fell in love, even he wasn’t aware of it happening.

It was as ordinary as it could get. They had just finished practice that afternoon and the team was off to grab popsicles to cool down before heading home.

He was excited for it because during practice, he wasn’t doing so well. He didn’t know why, but all his spikes were lacking and he jumped so slow once that the ball sailed over his head. Akaashi had given him such a dead look that Bokuto felt dejected.

He kept making mistake after mistake so the coach had him sit down for a while, and he had to watch his teammates have fun, spiking Akaashi’s tosses. He had never felt so jealous in his life.

The second he got his popsicle, he scarfed it down despite the impending brain freeze he will get from it. Akaashi told him off for it but the deed was done, and now his head hurts.

Sarukui laughed and Washio only shook his head. Konoha just looked dead tired of everything and silently ate his popsicle, not before giving him a judgemental look. He didn’t know why he looked so frustrated all the time.

Komi handed him a tissue and he gratefully took it, wiping his mouth. After the pain subsided, Bokuto eagerly turned his popsicle around. Maybe he won another popsicle! His expression fell as soon as his smile appeared.

“Akaaaashi,” he whined, “I’m so unlucky today!”

“What happened, Bokuto-san?” Akaashi patiently waited for him to continue. Bokuto pouted and showed him his popsicle stick, devoid of the phrase indicating he won and proceeded to whine, “First, I totally sucked at practice! I didn’t even get to hit ten of Akaashi’s tosses today, and now, I didn’t even win another popsicle!”

“You shouldn’t blame your luck for your performance at practice,” Akaashi sighed.

“Wasn’t it because he kept remembering all his mistakes?” Onaga whispered and Komi shushed him, pulling him away from the scene, careful not to disrupt the spiker and the setter.

“But, Akaaaaashi.” 

When Akaashi didn’t say anything, Bokuto pouted and looked down, silently brooding. Akaashi stared at him thoughtfully before heaving a sigh and holding out a hand. Bokuto sniffled, “Hm?’

“Give me your hand, Bokuto-san.”

Bokuto gave him his hand and watched as Akaashi placed his popsicle stick on his hand, “If you didn’t win, just try again.”

“Eh..?” Bokuto’s eyes widened seeing the writing on the popsicle. Akaashi won! “Akaashi! Wow, you’re so lucky!”

The setter only shrugged, “You can claim the popsicle for yourself, Bokuto-san.”

“Eh? But this is yours! I can’t take this!” He gave him a small smile in response, “Think of it as me sharing my luck with you. Take it, Bokuto-san. I don’t mind.”

Bokuto blinked and he felt his hands starting to get clammy. His heart was thumping loudly in his chest and he could hear nothing but the beats it was making, and he swallowed the lump beginning in his throat before bolting into the convenience store, “Thanks, Akaashi!”

A single thought raced into his mind: has Akaashi always been that pretty?

Little did he know, he would go home with a little surprise of his own - something that would stick with him for the rest of his life.

After Bokuto dragged Akaashi off to head home, Konoha groaned and buried his head in his hands in frustration, “Why can’t they just date?”

Sarukui, who was walking beside him, laughed, “Why are you getting so stressed over it?”

“I can’t just ignore it, you know!” Konoha grunted, “We train everyday with those two.” _Plus, they make it so obvious._

“Akaashi just can’t ignore him for some reason,” Washio shrugged, “We did try telling him off for spoiling Bokuto, but…”

“He said he was doing it for the team,” Onaga sipped his water before adding, “What’s wrong with that?”

“Are you guys seriously going to let them act all lovey-dovey in your faces?” He couldn’t stand by and do nothing when he’s getting insulted every day. He knew he was single, but they had no right to rub it in his face!

“We’re not bitterly single like you,” Komi sneakily added, “Mr. Jack-of-all-trades, master-of-none.”

“That’s not the point! And _don’t call me that!_ ”

  
  


**Author's Note:**

> i hope you liked it!!
> 
> please do join us for bokuaka week ;; i swear it's fun!! <3  
> (also, tell me y'alls tots in the comments or leave kudos i would love that sm hhh) thank you for reading!!


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